Springfield College Football Blanks Husson, 36-0, In Home Opener

Springfield, Mass. - September 14, 2013 - The Springfield College football team posted a shutout in its home opener as it blanked visiting Husson College, 36-0, on Saturday afternoon in non-conference play at Stagg Field.

Springfield now improves to 2-0 on the year, while the Eagles are in search of their first victory and drop to 0-2.

After giving up 40 points in its season-opener last weekend to Western New England, the Springfield defensive unit buckeled down, giving up just 166 total yards for the shutout win. It was the first time that Springfield had held its opponent off the scoreboard since October 2, 2010, when it defeated King's Point, 64-0.

Jonathan Marrero (Boston, Mass. led Springfield with 122 yards on the ground, while Louis Fenaroli (Newtown, Conn.) found the end zone three times after carrying the ball 21 times for 92 yards. As a team, the Pride totaled 396 yards on the ground on 67 rushing attempts.

Defensively, Danny Macalena (Congers, N.Y.) made 10 tackles, including four tackles-for-loss, and Mike Dublin (Portsmouth, R.I) made eight stops and had one of two Springfield interceptions.

For Husson, Kyle McKinnon (New London, Conn.) totaled 80 yards to highlight the Eagles offense. Ellis Throckmorton (Bangor, Maine) was all over the field on defense, registering a game-high 12 unassisted tackles, while also forcing and recovering a fumble. Teammate Stephan Dance (New London, Conn.) added 10 solo stops of his own.

After the defense forced a Husson three-and-out, the Pride put together a 12-play, 67-yard drive that featured eight rushes from Fenaroli. The second-year fullback put the Pride up 6-0 with a one-yard plunge at the 8:20 mark, only to have Joe Saccereccia (Bangor, Maine) block the extra point.

The Pride added to its lead as it found the end zone with four seconds left in the first. After a 62-yard scamper down the right sideline by Joel Altavesta (Tewksbury, Mass.), the Pride punched in another one-yard score thanks to a gritty run by Blake Joppy (Clarksburg, Md.). Altavesta rushed in for a two-point conversion to give the hosts a 14-0 cushion.

Neither team would score in the second quarter, as the Pride hurt itself with fumbles on back-to-back positions. Fenaroli coughed it up inside the 10 with 2:20 left in the half, and after Springfield forced Husson to punt, Joppy mishandled the ball to thwart any late offensive push.

Springfield wasted little time scoring to start the second half. The Pride took the kickoff and marched 70 yards in five plays, using a Fenaroli score from eight yards out and a James Poggio (East Granby, Conn.) two-point conversion to gain a 22-0 lead just 2:23 into the quarter.

Fenaroli scored another one-yard touchdown 2:54 into the fourth quarter and Michael Mastroianni (Durham, Conn.) added a late three-yard touchdown with 1:49 remaining to complete the scoring.

For the game, Springfield held a slight 30:17-29:43 edge in time of possession, including holding the ball for nearly 12 minutes in the fourth quarter. In addition, the Pride was able to hold the Eagles to 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions, while going 3-for-3 themselves.

The Pride will hit the road next Saturday to take on Mount Ida for a 1:00 pm kickoff.

Football Blanks Husson, 36-0, In Home Opener

Springfield, Mass. - September 14, 2013 - The Springfield College football team posted a shutout in its home opener as it blanked visiting Husson College, 36-0, on Saturday afternoon in non-conference play at Stagg Field.

Springfield now improves to 2-0 on the year, while the Eagles are in search of their first victory and drop to 0-2.

After giving up 40 points in its season-opener last weekend to Western New England, the Springfield defensive unit buckeled down, giving up just 166 total yards for the shutout win. It was the first time that Springfield had held its opponent off the scoreboard since October 2, 2010, when it defeated King's Point, 64-0.

Jonathan Marrero (Boston, Mass. led Springfield with 122 yards on the ground, while Louis Fenaroli (Newtown, Conn.) found the end zone three times after carrying the ball 21 times for 92 yards. As a team, the Pride totaled 396 yards on the ground on 67 rushing attempts.

Defensively, Danny Macalena (Congers, N.Y.) made 10 tackles, include four tackles-for-loss, and Mike Dublin (Portsmouth, R.I) made eight stops and had one of two Springfield interceptions.

For Husson, Kyle McKinnon (New London, Conn.) totaled 80 yards to highlight the Eagles offense. Ellis Throckmorton (Bangor, Maine) was all over the field on defense, registering a game-high 12 unassisted tackles, while also forcing and recovering a fumble. Teammate Stephan Dance (New London, Conn.) added 10 solo stops of his own.

After the defense forced a Husson three-and-out, the Pride put together a 12-play, 67-yard drive that featured eight rushes from Fenaroli. The second-year fullback put the Pride up 6-0 with a one-yard plunge at the 8:20 mark, only to have Joe Saccereccia block the extra point (Bangor, Maine).

The Pride added to its lead as found the end zone with four seconds left in the first. Thanks to a 62-yard scamper down the right sideline by Joel Altavesta (Tewksbury, Mass.), the Pride punched in another one-yard score thanks to a gritty run by Blake Joppy (Clarksburg, Md.). Altavesta rushed in for a two-point conversion to give the hosts a 14-0 cushion.

Neither team would score in the second quarter, as the Pride hurt itself with fumbles on back-to-back positions. Fenaroli coughed it up inside the 10 with 2:20 left in the half, and after Springfield forced Husson to punt, Joppy mishandled the ball to thwart any offensive push.

Springfield wasted little time scoring to start the second half. The Pride took the kickoff and marched 70 yards in five plays, using a Fenaroli score from eight yards out and a James Poggio (East Granby, Conn.) two-point conversion to gain a 22-0 lead just 2:23 into the quarter.

Fenaroli added another one-yard score 2:54 into the fourth quarter and Michael Mastroianni (Durham, Conn.) added a late three-yard touchdown with 1:49 remaining to complete the scoring.

For the game, Springfield held a slight 30:17-29:43 edge in time of possession, and was able to hold the Eagles to 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions, while going 3-for-3 themselves.

The Pride will hit the road next Saturday to take on Mount Ida for a 1:00 pm kickoff.

- See more at: http://www3.spfldcol.edu/homepage/athletics.nsf/Headline/FD20BABA1EA6A34785257BE600599904#sthash.zT5Lyw7J.dpuf